Half of an Owl, Half of my Heart
by Ninjakiwi995
Summary: "You fall, I'll catch you." Aegis cried, begging for Arleigh not to let go. "I think I have fallen too far this time." she replied and with a sad smile, let go. (content from chapter 3) When fourteen year old Aegis and his best friend Arleigh are attacked in Manhattan, Arleigh is captured and Aegis ventures to Camp Half Blood. There he gets a quest to go searching for his friend
1. 396 Postage Stamps

**A/N: Hey! Its the Kiwi... The bird not the fruit. This is my first fanfiction ever so it probably sucks... You can flame if you want but warning my temper is... special. (EVIL SMILE) Just kidding. I got this idea from nowhere and I just thought I would see where it takes me. Try it and if you hate it than stop reading. **

**A FACT ABOUT KIWI BIRDS:  
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**They live in NEW ZEALAND!  
**

**DISCLAIMER: There shouldn't be any need for this yet but in honor of later chapters.  
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**I THE NINJAKIWI (995) DO NOT, HAVE NOT, AND NEVER WILL OWN THE PJO, HOO OR ANY OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THIS STORY. I ALSO DON'T OWN CENTRAL PARK BUT YOU GUYS ARE SMART AND PROBABLY KNOW THAT.  
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1

Aegis

Aegis evaluated his target. A middle aged woman; blonde with prism-like earrings that made tiny little rainbows spill over her trim, white, business suit. She talked into her state of the art cell phone, her faux alligator skin bag hung lazily off of her right shoulder. She strode toward a park-style bench located a few feet off the busy sidewalk. Aegis stealthily followed, always staying back off of the arm containing the purse. Her confident shoulders angled away from the bag. Her follower easily probed her purse as she walked to the bench, examining the contents and anticipating the next move.

_When we reach the bench the target will sit on the left side so as to rest the arm holding the phone. As her conversation on the cell has gone on she has become more distracted and aggravated so the steal will be easy. As you sit on the bench she will notice you. Do not run. She will only turn away making it much easier to grab the cash and make a casual retreat._

As he predicted, his target sat on the left side of the bench. As Aegis sat on her right, the woman _did _notice him. She threw him a perfect-toothed sneer and turned away ignorantly, exposing her purse. With a touch as light as a feather, Aegis grabbed her expensive wallet. Using one hand he pried open the folds and taking $50. Out of this woman's purse, she probably wouldn't even notice it was gone.

Aegis was smart. He would never take more than he needed and never so much that the victim would notice. Ever since he was nine and had run away from home, Aegis had lived on the streets of New York as a pickpocket. Every day he would venture out into Manhattan and take only what he needed, use half of the money for necessary purchases, and the other half he would save hoping one day to buy an apartment in the city.

At least that was the plan. Being one of the most successful pickpockets in New York comes with a price. Every now and then he was bribed into giving his money to others. His attackers, (usually unsuccessful gangs), would take all the money he had on him and force him to go out every day of that week to get more money for them. When he had finally paid up, they would send him on his way. It was give them the money or die.

Even with all this trouble Aegis never minded his life. He had always been special, a misfit. He feels that, in his heart, he was born to be a thief. He loved the thrill of the chase, the adrenaline rush that came with every steal, and the uncertainty of what lay ahead. To you or I who come home to a nice bed every night may not think of these as good things, but Aegis liked to shape his own future.

Pocketing the cash from his most recent project, Aegis walked confidently toward Central Park. Rule one of being a thief is to never look suspicious.

Bored, he sat on a patch of lawn and emptied his pockets.

The pocket in the right front always holds his lighter, pocketknife, and key ring (exactly 47 but who's counting?). The left front pocket holds his twenty double A batteries, cell phone SIM cards, dog collar tags and a piece of modeling clay. His back right pocket only held a locket with the only photograph of his dead mother in it. She had died in a collision with a mail truck when Aegis was 8.

Finally his back left pocket and his pride and joy. In a sandwich bag was 396 postage stamps, his largest collection yet. Since his mom had died from the mail truck crash, he couldn't help but take any postage stamp in his sight. The pocket also held a tiny keychain shaped like a mini high top with wings. He didn't know why but it was one of his favorite things and he thought it was a good luck charm. The last thing in that pocket were two necklaces that had one of those charms that fit together when you put the two together. The charm was an owl. He had gotten it earlier that day and was planning on giving one half of it to his best friend.

Sure that everything was present and accounted for he collected all of his things up and dropped them back into their respective pockets.

Aegis continued his stroll through Central park scoring a watch, 82 cents, and a matchbook. As he reached the more wooded section of the Park, he broke off the path and headed for a tall oak tree. He scurried up into the branches and home. Home was basically a nice sized platform that was wedged in 5 feet above where the branches met the trunk. Half of the platform was covered in a tarp in case of rain. The other side was open to the sky. Under the tarp he kept a sleeping bag and pillow and a cash box.

The box held a gold bracelet, some baseball trading cards and, (including his money from today), $301 as well as some random spare change.

He lay on his sleeping bag for a while, fiddling with his pockets, and thinking. When he got hungry, he ate a dinner of a cold half meatball sub from a random pedestrian's lunch, and lay back down again. The afternoon sun was warm and made him drowsy. He lay there until the sun was set and the moon on its hike up the sky. His eyes started to close.

_More than $300_ he mused _enough to leave and take a bus anywhere else…_ But Aegis knew he would never leave. Not while Arleigh lived here.

**A/N: Ya that's it. You can favorite, or follow, or review. Please. I will try and post again in like the next week or so. **

**OH crap I forgot. There are weirdish names in this story. AEGIS is pronounced EEE-JIS. ARLEIGH is pronounced ARR-LEE.  
Please stay tuned for more chapters... sometime in the near future.  
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**If I REALLLLY shouldn't continue than just tell me in your review.  
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**YOUV'E JUST BEEN KIWIED! (cue dramatic thunder)  
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	2. 2 Necklaces

**A/N: Hello my little kiwis. I guess I am in the writing mood because this is the second straight day I have posted. I know that this Chapter won't be as good as the first one but hopefully you can enjoy it anyway. I wrote this in the car earlier today so I thought _what the heck_ I will just post it. So since 5:30 I have been working on editing it and revising it. Here I am two hours later and SHABAM new chapter.**

**FACT ABOUT KIWI'S  
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**Kiwi's are flightless birds. Check out the youtube video Kiwi! by Madyeti47. It's so adorable. I love it Madyeti47 of youtube!  
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**Disclaimer: I THE NINJAKIWI (995) DO NOT OWN THE PJO, HOO OR ANY THING LIKE THAT. **

**Here it is!  
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**(cue confetti)  
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2

Aegis

"Hey sleeping beauty," a casual voice called, shattering through Aegis's sleep. A feeling of total frustration washed over him as he noticed the cold blade pressed against his throat.

"Dammit Arleigh," He muttered, trying for a cold hating voice. Secretly, his heart was beating uncontrollably. _ Gods she is gorgeous_. She was kneeling at his side, leaning over him so her golden locks fell in a circle around her face. Her storm cloud eyes flashed and she smiled proudly

"That's the second time this week thief boy. You are way to easy to sneak up on," she taunted. "You owe me two bucks now." Fast as lightning, she released the pressure on his throat, twirled the dagger she wielded once in her hand, and sheathed it in the scabbard hanging at her belt. All without so much as looking down.

"You are way to good with that knife for me to be comfortable near you." He said, sitting up.

"Jealous are you Aegis. You wanna try me."

"Not tonight."

"No dagger fight? Cummon, it'll be fun."

"Ya, for you. I would just get the great honor of having my but kicked."

"Chicken."

"How about a walk instead. There's gonna be plenty of people downtown to party on a Friday night. We could split the profit."

"Fine," she said, feigning exasperation. But she dropped the act and smiled. "Sounds like fun."

They jumped down from his tree and started walking back toward the path. They talked quietly about random stuff. Arleigh told him about a steal she had made that morning and he listened quietly. As they walked, he felt the necklaces get heavy in his pocket. _ Now would be the perfect time to give her her half. _He gathered his courage. He stopped walking in the middle of one of the huge lawns. The moon shown down on the two of them making Arleigh's eyes glint and shimmer like stars. Her orbs scanned him reading into his emotions. They were close and all so it was easy for her to tell what he was thinking but it went further than that. Arleigh could look at someone she had never met before and tell someone numerous things about that person's life. She was observant and cunning to a fault. Now he felt like she was reading him like a book.

"I stole something for you today," He started, his voice coming out unconfident and shaky. She cocked one eyebrow but didn't respond. His heart racing he fumbled into his pocket, clamped down on the necklaces, and pulled them out. Staring at his feet, he handed her one of them.

"They fit together," he explained. "I will wear my half and you can wear yours." Her face lit up.

"That is so sweet Aegis," she said. She pulled back her hair so he could put it on her. Once his trembling hands fastened the clip, he put his own on. When he let the charm drop on his skin, it started to heat up. He looked at Arleigh in shock and saw that hers was glowing. Looking down he saw that his was too.

"Who'd you take these from?" she asked, her shock evident in her voice.

"A random lady I saw earlier. She reminded me of you actually."

"Weird. They must be glow-in-the-dark or something." She stated. But both of them knew that it was just a blind attempt to explain something inexplicable.

"Thanks Aegis."

"No prob." He replied. They started to walk again but his stomach was churning.

When they broke out of the park and into the city they started to walk toward some of the more rich and popular hangouts. Sneaking in the back door of a club, they started to grab whatever they could. A watch, a bracelet, a couple bucks each and on to the next place. For a couple hours they hopped from place to place stealing this or that and generally having a good time. Some people go dancing with their friends, they went stealing, and to them, it was just as much fun.

When they finally decided they were done for the night, they started walking back toward Central Park. Every time their shoulders brushed or they got closer than a foot to each other, his necklace warmed up. They chatted and laughed as they walked, joking around with each other.

As they reached the edge of the trees that led to their separate homes, Aegis noticed an eerie rustling in the bushes. He looked at Arleigh and they had a silent conversation that can only occur between the closest friends.

_You heard that, right?_

_ Yep but don't act like you heard it or we lose the element of surprise._

_ Do you think it is another gang?_

_ If it was we would have heard it coming. We haven't met this threat before. I'm scared Aegis._

_ Don't be._

And that was when the epic disaster to end his perfect night came ripping through the bushes.

**So who/what is attacking our protagonists? Protagonisti? What is the plural of protagonist? **

**Anyhoodles... Please superdiduperdy please review even though this is just a short chapter. Just send me a smiley or frowny face and it will make my day. If you follow or favorite my story I will do a little victory dance. If you follow or favorite me, I might just die of happiness. But not really so you can do that if you want to. **

**So I hope you have figured out that A squared (my little name for Aegis and Arleigh) are both demigods. Sorry for postponing the fact but they will be going to Camp Half Blood soon. Patience my little Kiwis. Can you guess who their godly parents are? I think you can. Post a review telling everyone what you think.  
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**My school has been cancelled for tomorrow because of the threat from hurricane Sandy so I might just might post again tomorrow. Might being the key word in that phrase. If not I will be back probably next weekend. PM me if you want though because I will check every day. No I am NOT obsessed. That much... Ok yes I am. You got me.  
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**UNTIL NEXT TIME!  
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**YOU'VE JUST BEEN KIWIED! (cue dramatic thunder)  
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	3. 1 Unforgettable Promise

**A/N: The Kiwi is back from her short term ( 2 month ) hiatus. *Cue CHEERING* The reason I was gone so long was because I was busy. 'What!?" you say. "She has something other than fanfiction to do all day?!" (That rhymed) Yes. And I had given up on this story. But I'm back and this time the story has a new feature... IT"S WRITTEN IN THE FIRST PERSON! yaaaay. I always wind up writing my drafts in the first person anyway but changing them to the third person. Sorry this is a short chapter but it is kind of like a welcome back preview and I need some time to write a new chapter so this should hold you off until then.**** Alright let's get to it.  
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**A FACT ABOUT KIWI BIRDS:  
**

**A Kiwi is nearly blind. It can see about 5-7 feet during the night and only 1-2 feet during the day.  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I THE NINJAKIWI (995) DO NOT, HAVE NOT, AND NEVER WILL OWN PJO, HOO OR ANY OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THIS STORY.  
**

**(This is the first time this story that I actually NEED a disclaimer... YAY!)  
**

****3

Aegis

With a roar that rattled me to the bone, a giant serpent plunged through the undergrowth. It was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen. Its scales shifted color- green, brown, and black. Its head was, snakelike, its teeth, were dripping with venom. Even though I wasn't looking at them, I could feel its eyes casting a searing stare at me. I decided it would be a bad idea to return his gaze. I fumbled into my pocket to retrieve my pocketknife. When I flicked it open, it looked small and insignificant. I glanced over at Arleigh to see if she was better prepared. I was disappointed. Arleigh was staring straight into the beast's eyes, frozen in place with a horrified look plastered on her face.

"Arleigh!" I screamed, my voice cracking, "Arleigh don't look into its eyes!"

"Aegis?" she whispered, obviously confused. And then, just as she seemed to recall the giant beast trying to kill us, the serpent's tail flicked out and sent her sailing back. As I watched her, helplessly frozen in horror, I could see her try to throw out her arms to break her fall.

I winced as she hit the ground with a sickening SNAP! She cried out briefly, and then fell unconscious.

The snake turned to me. My stomach crawled into my throat and hid and my heart attempted to beat out of my chest. I had to get to Arleigh. In a bad try to distract the snake, I threw my pocketknife. The throw was rushed and it just bounced harmlessly off of its scales.

I sprinted to Arleigh. When I reached her I sobbed with grief and fell to my knees. Her injuries were obviously much worse than they had originally looked. Now that I was up close I could see that her left arm was completely bent the wrong way and blood welled massively from a deep gash on her forehead. Blood stained the grass around her and she was pale from loss of blood.

Suddenly Arleigh opened her eyes and grabbed my hand. I grasped her hand back and looked deep into her mysterious grey eyes. They were clouded with pain and brimming with tears.

"Bye Aegis," she whispered.

"No, no, no," I wept. " You fall, I'll catch you. That's our deal. We promised."

"I think I've fallen too far this time she breathed. And with a sad smile let go.

"No!" I cried. She was still breathing, but barely. Remembering our old promise, I slipped into the past.

_The January landscape was blurry with snow. Snow from the sky, snow on the ground, snow covering everything. Arleigh and I had just decided to head to the inner city to see if we could pick up any profit at Grand Central Station. Now we were just about to leave my tree house, when Arleigh suddenly lost her footing and almost plummeted over the edge of the makeshift flooring. I grabbed her hand quickly, before she could tumble off. _

"_Damn, that was close." I said._

" _I only would have fallen into the snow. The ground isn't that far down anyway."_

"_Too bad ungrateful one," I replied using a smart British Accent. Then dropping it I continued. "Doesn't matter how far away the ground is. You fall, I catch you. No matter what."_

"_Thanks Aegis," she grinned._

I snapped out of my flashback finding that only a few seconds had passed. The snake behind me bellowed, and my sorrow turned into hatred. I turned to face the beast and charged it madly, throwing caution to the wind. All the serpent had to do was spit his acidic venom at me and it would have been over. Fortunately for me, he didn't.

The monster seemed to freeze, looking off into the distance. I stopped running, confused. The snake suddenly collapsed to the side, revealing a golden spear stuck in its head. Two boys stood at the edge of the bushes where the snake had initially emerged. They both looked to be about 17 or 18. One was clad in a purple t-shirt and jeans with armor strapped over the street clothes. His hair was blonde and close cut. His eyes were startlingly blue. The other boy was dressed similarly but wore orange instead of purple. His hair was chocolaty brown and wind blown. His eyes were sea green. Both radiated an aura of power and confidence.

Remembering his dying friend, I ran up to the armor clad boys.

" You have to help my friend," I sobbed, hardly noticing the tears sliding down my face. The blonde was the one to reply.

"Shh, shh," he soothed. " We are here to help. My name is Jason Grace and this is my friend, Percy Jackson."

**A/N: Dun, dun, DAHHHH! "Wait but in your description you said that Arleigh was captured not that she was dying" Yah. So. This is only one chapter. Patience my Kiwilings. **

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**YOU'VE JUST BEEN KIWIED! (cue dramatic thunder)  
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